Chapter 633. To authorize the Cairo and Tennessee River Railroad Company to construct a bridge across Cumberland River
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CHAP. 633.— An Act To authorize the Cairo and Tennessee River Railroad Company to construct a bridge across Cumberland River. March 9, 1906. [[H. R. 14590](/us/bill/34/hr/14590).] [[Public, No. 40](/us/pl/34/40).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled*, Cumberland River, Tenn, and Ky.Cairo and Tennessee River Railroad Company may bridge. That the Cairo and Tennessee River Railroad Company, a corporation created and organized under the laws of the States of Tennessee and Kentucky, be, and is hereby, authorized to construct and maintain, for the passage of railway trains, a bridge with single or double track and approaches thereto, Location.over the Cumberland River between Lineport, Stewart County, Tennessee. and the Tennessee Rolling Works, Lyon County, Kentucky.
Sec. 2. Secretary of War to approve plans, etc. That the said bridge shall be located and built under and subject to such regulations for the security of navigation as may be prescribed by the Secretary of War, and the said company shall submit to the Secretary of War, for his examination and approval, a design and drawing of the bridge and a map of the location, giving for the space of a mile above and a mile below the proposed location the topography of the banks of the river, the shore lines at high and low water, the direction and strength of the current at all stages, and the soundings accurately showing the bed of the stream; and upon the plan having been approved by the Secretary of War, the said company is authorized to construct the said bridge upon the plan and location so approved.
The Secretary of War shall have the power to require such other information as he may deem necessary for a full understanding Changes.of the subject. Any change made in the plan of said bridge during the progress of construction or after completion shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of War; and the said company shall at its own expense make such changes in the said bridge as the Secretary of War may at any time direct in the interest of navigation. Sec. 3. Lawful structure and post route.
That any bridge built under this Act and subject to its limitations shall be a lawful structure and shall be recognized and known as a post route, upon which no higher charge shall be made for the transmission of mails and the troops and munitions of war of the United States over the same than the rate per mile paid for the transportation over the railroad or the approaches leading to the said bridge; and it shal1 enjoy the rights and privileges of other post roads in the United States, and equal privileges in the use of the said bridge shall be granted to Telegraph, etc., rights.all telegraph and telephone companies, and the United States shall have the right of way across the said bridge and its approaches for postal, telegraph, and telephone purposes.
Sec. 4. Unobstructed navigation. That the said bridge shall be constructed with its center line substantially at right angles to the current of the river and as a draw-bridge, so that a free and unobstructed passageway may be secured to Opening draw.all water craft navigating said river. The draw shall be opened promptly, upon reasonable signals, for the passage of boats or vessels, and the said company shall maintain at its own expense, from Lights, etc.sunset to sunrise, such lights or other signals as the Light-House Board shall prescribe.
Sec. 5. Use by other roads. That all railroad companies desiring the use of said bridge shall have and be entitled to equal rights relative to the passage of rail-way trains over the same and over the approaches thereto upon the payment of reasonable compensation for such use: and in case the owner Compensation.or owners of said bridge and the several railroad companies or any of them desiring such use shall fail to agree upon the sum or sums to be paid and upon the rules and conditions to which each shall conform in using said bridge, all matters in issue between them shall be decided by the Secretary of War upon the hearing of the allegation and proofs of the parties.
Sec. 6. Amendment.Time of construction. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is expressly reserved; and this Act shall be null and void if actual construction of 59the bridge herein authorized be not commenced within one year and completed within three years from the approval of this Act. Approved, March 9, 1906.